The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1887-09-23
ON THE POTOMAC.
Campaign Of SOuth Mountain
and the Antictam.
M'CLELLAN'S LAST BATTLE.
Lees Invasion Of Maryland
Twenty-Five Years Ago.

How Stoncwall Jackson's Men Sang
"The Lord Bless Your Ragged, Dirty
Souls!'-Lee's Lost Dispatch-Battle
Of the Three Mountain Passes-Cap.
ture of Harper's Ferry by the Confed-
erates-The sunken Road ut Sharps.
burg-Dunker Church.
In the CONSERVATION that reigned at Wash.
ington after the second battle of Bull Run,
Aug. 80 1869, IIalleck wrote hasty note to
Mcclellan, as follows: "You will retain the
command of everything in this vicinity not
temporarily to be Popes army in the field.
l beg of you to assist me in this crisis with
your ability and experience"
Mcclellan, at the time of receiving this
note was not in command of anything to
speak Of. His army had been mostly sent to
Pope in Virginia. Haleck's order meant
that Mcclellan was to take command Of the
defenses of the city Of Washington, and that
Immediately.
After the bloody fight Of Chantilly, Sept
I, Gen. Pope's Union army-what was left Of
it-straggled into Washington, ragged, foot
sore, and half starved. They were allowed
to rest and pull themselves together again
for few days within the intrenchments Of
the city. Meantime, Pope once more re-
quested to be relieved of his command and
sent back west. His request was allowed.
Sept. he turned his face westward, and his
back Oh that eastern army which he believed
had never supported him sincerely. Many
of his countrymen shared the same opinion.
1t was declared that had Mcclellan hurried
Franklins and Summers corps forward to
the support of Pope, as he had been ordered
to do, the Union defeat at the second Bull
Run would not have happened. Horace
Greeley, in his "American Conflict" says so
in SO many words He writes: "Had they
been there two days earlier, and had Porter
now and then condescended to obey an order,
that defeat might have been transformed
into victory"
At any rate, whosesoever the fault, Popes
bloody and unsatisfactory campaign was
over. His star i'll the east had gone down.
The eyes of the country once more turned to
Mcclellan. Those first years of the war
were, OH the Union side, desperate hunting
after great generals.
Sept. 2, President Lincoln and Gen. Hal
leck placed Mcclellan again at the head of
all the eastern army. They personally called
at his house and asked him to take command
again. The Army of Virginia was no more,
ana the reorganlzed Army of the Potomac
rose upon its ruins.
The army in Washington having rested,
still formed as fine body of fighting men as
need be. Rest brought back their old spirits,
recruits poured in from all quarters, and soon
filled out the skeletonized regiments Sept.
Mcclellan led out of Washington an army
5000 strong. A new campaign was to re-
store the confidence of the country in her
Young Napoleon.
{, Banks was left in command of the defenses
at Washington Mcclellan led out from the
city the First, Second, Sixth, Ninth and
lively Iy Hooker, Sumner, Franklin, Reno
and Mansfield. Gen. COUGHS division of the
Fourth corps was attached to the Sixth
Fitz John Porter, with his Fifth army corps,
Joined Mcclellan Sept. II. The total strength
OF his army is put at this date at 104 ,246 OF
this splendid army, Burnside commanded
the right Sumner the center and Franklin
the left Gen. Alfred Pleasonton had charge
of the cavalry. In this order the army Of
the Potomac advanced once more to Try con-
illusions with Lee and his men, They did not
exactly know where Lee was yet, but it was
not long till they found out